


Five Pennies

by youthoughtyouknew



Series: Five Pennies and a Thimble of Cream [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Human, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Fae Morality | Patton Sanders, Fluff, Human Logic | Logan Sanders, Interspecies Romance, M/M, but also a leetle beet of angst, i make up for it with some hurt and comfort don't worry, like super soft cute fluff, logan is surprisingly poetic when he's in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:35:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23551675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youthoughtyouknew/pseuds/youthoughtyouknew
Summary: Logan tries out an old superstition with his niece.
Relationships: Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Logicality
Series: Five Pennies and a Thimble of Cream [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1695070
Comments: 13
Kudos: 105





	Five Pennies

**Author's Note:**

> I basically listened to [Count On Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8pAIO3CPBY) and [More Than Friends](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXbGuOevKCQ) in a loop while writing this, and I don't regret it.

Stack five pennies and the fae will come.

Logan knows the superstition. It’s a ritual-turned-fairy-story whispered to children before bed. Stack five pennies, leave a thimbleful of cream, and in the night, a fae will come and grant you good luck. Be sure to leave some cream, good cream, or your luck will sour.

Logan doesn’t believe in summoning _anything_. Leave the fae alone and they’ll leave you alone, that’s his philosophy on the subject. But he’s babysitting his niece, and there are only so many ways to keep a five year old happy. Fairy stories are the only thing he can think of to make a (relatively) quiet afternoon possible.

“Stack five pennies and the fae will come,” he tells her in a hushed tone, holding out a handful of age-dulled coins and a thimble, the kind without holes.

She looks up at him, eyes wide and reverent, and takes them. “And then we get good luck,” she whispers.

Logan suppresses a sigh. “Yes.” He doesn’t add that no one has seen a fae - _any_ fae - in this area for years and years. Or that the ritual only constitutes one small boon of fortune. For Natalie, at least, the magic is untainted by worldliness.

It takes several minutes to decide where to summon the fae, much less time to do it. Logan gives Natalie the pennies one at a time as she carefully stacks them on the windowsill. Then he takes the coffee cream from the fridge for her. She insists on pouring the cream herself, and he figures, what’s to lose? If the superstition is real, Natalie deserves the luck more than he does. So he holds the thimble for her, and watches as she tilts the carton, brow furrowed and tongue poking out of her mouth with concentration. A few drops go over. It’s fine, Logan assures her. He can clean it up later.

Natalie carries the thimble with the kind of caution only a child determined to do well can muster. She sets it next to the pennies, opens the window a couple of inches, and finds a seat at the table.

“What are you doing?” Logan asks.

She doesn’t look away from the pennies. “Waiting.”

“For the fae?”

A nod. Her eyes remain trained on the windowsill.

“It won’t happen right away,” Logan cautions.

“I know.”

He smiles to himself and leaves her to her watching. If she wants to spend the afternoon watching for fairies, he’s not going to stop her.

*

The afternoon passes quietly. Logan sits at the table and reads. At some point, Natalie falls asleep.

Around three, shortly before Logan’s sister will be coming to pick her up, Natalie wakes up and runs to the window. Logan hears her gasp before she’s tugging at his elbow. “Uncle Logan! Uncle Logan! The cream’s gone!”

Logan allows himself to be pulled to where the thimble is indeed empty. The stack of pennies has been toppled. In all likelihood, the culprit is an insect or perhaps a mouse; Natalie _did_ leave the window open. He ruffles her hair. “It looks like it worked. Well done.”

The beaming smile he receives is worth the tiny falsehood. Of course, when Natalie tells her mother, Logan also receives an amused look. Athena knows full well he isn’t the superstitious type.

Still, Logan feels a bit proud of himself for giving Natalie a chance to experience a little magic. He tidies the inevitable mess from their lunch, and is about to close the closet when he remembers the splashes of cream still on the counter and goes to wipe them up.

There’s nothing there. He must have cleaned up already and forgotten about it.

*

Logan shouldn’t be surprised when Natalie insists on stacking pennies on the windowsill the next time he babysits.

Or the time after that.

Or the time after _that_.

Before long, it’s their own little tradition. Logan helps set up the pennies and thimble, Natalie watches and waits. The cream is always gone and the pennies scattered by the time Athena comes to pick her up, and they never see it happen. (Logan is more surprised that he’s not seeing an infestation of insects moving into his house.)

The ritual is pretty silly from an adult standpoint, but it’s also harmless, and Logan comes to enjoy these special little moments with his niece.

Then comes the day it changes.

Natalie isn’t here. The house is empty save for Logan. And while he’s been living on his own for enough years to be used to it - he _enjoys_ the solitude - he finds himself feeling just a tad lonely.

The idea creeps into his mind as he’s washing the lunch dishes. He dismisses it at first. It’s a child’s superstition, a way to connect with Natalie. For Logan, a grown man, to do it on his own? Ridiculous.

But he still finds himself going to the jar of loose change on the mantle and pulling out a handful of coins.

The ritual feels different when he does it alone. More reverential. He stacks the pennies neatly, lining up the edges by habit. The thimble he sets next to the coins with extra care, because _what if ?_ He opens the window, then makes himself some coffee, takes his seat, and waits.

He doesn’t actually see what happens. Maybe he blinks and misses it. Maybe magic hides it from his eyes. But between one breath and the next, he realizes the pennies have fallen. The thimble, when he looks in it, is once again empty.

Something makes Logan look out the window. There’s the smallest flash of colour - blue, his favourite - and then he’s alone again. A bug? Maybe. But Logan suddenly doesn’t feel alone.

Later that day, he finds the sock he’d been missing for three days lying on his bed, neatly folded.

*

Logan has had a rough day at work. The number of papers he has to deal with at home alone is daunting. They’re not even in the proper order. All he wants to do is collapse into bed and sleep.

Seeking some whimsy to take his mind off work for a few minutes, he stacks five pennies and leaves the thimble on the sill. He starts sifting through the pages while he waits.

It’s long after suppertime when he jolts awake, realizing he hasn’t done anything productive at all this evening. He reaches for the pages and stops.

They’ve all been put in order and sorted into stacks.

On the windowsill, the thimble is empty.

*

The ritual becomes routine. Not daily, or even every other day, but often enough to be called one. Logan doesn’t care about the superstition of luck; it’s the moments when he feels the fae’s presence that he treasures. And it _is_ fae. He sees the flashes sometimes, always that beautiful sky-blue that Logan has come to associate with companionship.

Which is not to say that Logan isn’t grateful for the small favours he finds himself receiving. Stains that should be tricky come off like magic when he does laundry. Aphids avoid the houseplants. It’s been weeks since he had to use the flyswatter.

It feels like an unfair exchange, so one day Logan leaves a small flower next to the thimble. He feels some worry that maybe the plant’s limited lifespan will offend the fae, but the next time he checks, it’s gone and the thimble sends blue-tinged tingles into his fingertips when he picks it up.

Logan starts looking for other ways to say thank you. He discovers that the fae prefers whipping cream to coffee - the thimble actually sparkles the first day he sets out the thicker, sweeter cream. A pretty button from his mother’s old dress results in all the plants around the window blooming, when autumn has nipped every other plant’s growth in the figurative bud. When Logan leaves a shard of mirror, he wakes up the next morning to find his hair free of tangles, unlike the bedhead he’s struggled with his whole life.

One day, Logan decides to try something completely new. He stacks the pennies and leaves the thimble as usual. But this time, he also leaves a scrap of paper, on which is written:

> Hello

He doesn’t try to watch for the fae; he hasn’t tried to catch sight of them in a long time. He simply goes about his day, trusting and hoping.

The paper is gone when he checks. In its place is a piece of birch bark roughly the same size. There are letters on it, curvy and pretty in an oddly childish way, written in what looks like plum juice:

> _Hello :)_

Logan’s breath catches. _Communication_. He scrambles for the cream and another piece of paper and writes,

> My name is Logan

When he comes back, the cream remains, but the paper has been replaced by another scrap of bark.

> _I know_
> 
> _My name is Patton_

Patton. A human name for a fae being, presumably male. Logan is hooked.

> Thank you for everything

> _:)_

*

Now that they are communicating, the ritual has new meaning. Logan starts doing more regularly, and more times a day. He leaves cream once in the morning, along with a message of greeting. Patton writes back at least once before noon, and if it’s a weekend, Logan is free to continue the conversation into the afternoon, minus the cream. (Fae need little sustenance, Patton explains, and cream is rich enough to provide a whole day’s worth. Logan is glad to hear it; he isn’t made of money.)

After several weeks of conversations squeezed in around work hours, Logan tries stacking the pennies at work. An almost immediate response proves his theory correct, and they begin having their conversations almost daily.

Logan won’t admit it, but Patton quickly becomes the only close friend he’s ever had. He has other friends, true, but Patton is _special_.

> Do fairies have friends?

> _Of course we do, silly. We’re just like humans, but, you know, magic_

> Do you have other friends?

> _Not really_
> 
> _But if I did, you’d be my best friend_

The message fills Logan with more warmth than it probably should.

He finds himself wanting to know more. More about fae, more about how he can further this magical friendship. The librarian is surprised when he signs out every book on fae that the public library has, but that’s inconsequential.

The books are interesting. Not overly helpful, but interesting. They have descriptions of fae from old accounts, but no illustrations that aren’t theoretical. A shame, really. Logan wants to know what Patton looks like.

> _There’s not a lot to say_

Patton writes when Logan asks if he would mind describing himself.

> _I’m not much to look at_

> I’m sure that’s not true

Logan says loyally.

> And even if it is, you have an exquisite personality
> 
> It’s what’s inside that counts

He means it. But it doesn’t stop the curiosity from invading his mind. He fills a sketchbook with drawings of fae that could resemble Patton. Short fae, tall fae, angular and soft, with any number of facial features and hair styles. The only detail that all sketches share is the eyes - eyes that Logan is very proud of, because they capture the feel of Patton more than anything else he could put on paper.

It’s late at night, looking over those drawings and daydreaming about Patton, that Logan realizes his feelings go beyond friendship. He’s fallen for the fae that visits his house when he’s not looking to do favours he hasn’t been paid for and write sweet notes.

The realization is surprising in that Logan _isn’t_ surprised. Patton is just so warm, so familiar, so… _Patton_. He’d be a fool not to develop feelings. But how to proceed?

> What do you know about love?

> _Wow, that’s a big question_
> 
> _Care to elaborate?_

> Have you ever been in love?

Logan might be imagining it, but there’s a pause before Patton responds.

> _Yes_

> Can you tell me about it? You don’t have to share any details you don’t want to

> _You’re such a gentleman :)_
> 
> _Being in love is… well, magical ._
> 
> _You think about them all the time, even if you don’t realize it. Everything wonderful reminds you of them. You want everything good for them, and when they’re sad, you know you’d do anything to help them feel better._
> 
> _Their presence is a light in your life._
> 
> _They feel like home._

That’s it, Logan thinks. I’m in love.

> _And sometimes you have to let go, and it hurts, but at the same time, you know it’s the best thing for them, and that makes it a little better._
> 
> _Love is life._

Oh. Oh no. _Patton..._

> _Anyway, that’s my experience_
> 
> _Is that helpful?_

> Patton… Has anyone you loved hurt you?

Another pause.

> _No. But sometimes hurting the one you love is just as painful as if they hurt you._

> How can I help you?

> _That’s sweet of you, but I don’t need help_
> 
> _How’s Natalie?_

Patton’s avoiding the question, Logan knows, but he doesn’t push it. Instead, he tells Patton all about how Natalie won admission to a special camp at the school science fair.

*

It’s been almost a year since Logan started stacking the pennies. He has never seen Patton in person, but his presence hangs around the house like a security blanket. By now, Logan knows for sure that Patton has been doing extra favours for him. He doesn’t mention it, only makes sure he leaves something extra for Patton in return.

He never mentions his feelings, which have only gotten stronger.

> _I think you should put out an ad for a roommate_

> Why?

> _I’m worried that you’re lonely_

> Why would I be lonely? I have you

Patton doesn’t answer right away.

> _Just think about it, okay?_

Logan thinks about it. A little. Why would he invite a stranger to share his home? Patton is all the company he needs.

Until one day he isn’t.

He stacks the pennies as usual, but Patton doesn’t respond.

There’s no need to be concerned. Patton doesn’t always write back right away. Still, Logan can’t help but be worried, especially when he doesn’t hear from the fae over the course of the morning.

Finally, he hears the pennies topple.

> _Hey Logan_

> Where were you? Are you alright?

> _I’m fine_
> 
> _Logan, I have something I need to tell you_

> Go on

> _I’m leaving_

Logan stops breathing.

> What? Why?

> _I have to. It’s personal._

> Can you tell me why?

> _No. Please, Logan, this is hard enough for me._

> Then I won’t ask. Is there anything I can do to help you?

> _There is one thing_

> Name it

> _Promise me you’ll look for a roommate_

> I promise

Logan sits at the window sill, knowing he won’t see the pennies fall, but unable to leave. When the clink of coins moving alerts him, he looks down.

> _Goodbye, Logan_

The pennies aren’t scattered this time. They’re arranged into a heart.

*

Logan puts the ad in the newspaper. With Patton gone, the last thing he wants is to bring someone new into his life. Only the knowledge that this is what Patton wants for him motivates him to write it up.

He isn’t holding his breath.

Instead, he stacks five pennies on the windowsill. The cream sours. Bugs enter the open window and spiderwebs make a reappearance in the corners.

After a few days, he comes to the conclusion that Patton isn’t coming back.

He has never felt so alone.

*

It’s June when he receives the email.

His ad is successful.

Logan sends a reply inviting the contender to come for a face-to-face interview and a tour of the house. He doesn’t expect much, but then again, his standards are lower than they’ve ever been.

You can’t expect perfection when you’ve let it go for good.

He’s sitting at the table, staring at word-filled pages without understanding them, the day they’re set to meet. His hair is a mess and there are dark circles under his eyes, he knows. But he can’t bring himself to do more than run his fingers through the worst of the tangles and straighten his tie. His new roommate will just have to understand.

There’s a knock at the door.

Logan gets up and goes to answer. There’s only one person it could be; he’s distanced himself from everyone else. He opens the door to let his new roommate in.

“Hello, Logan,” says the man at the door, and Logan looks up.

His gaze travels from the dirt-stained sneakers to the large hands clasped hopefully in front of the man’s stomach to the sky-blue shirt, and, finally, to his face.

It’s soft, to match the rest of him, topped with messy brown hair and sporting a pair of glasses perched somewhat crookedly on his nose. Behind those glasses, eyes the colour of amber and chocolate swirled together twinkle warmly.

It’s Patton. Logan knows it immediately.

He might gasp. He definitely stares.

“Logan,” Patton says again, and it’s Patton, it’s so Patton that Logan tears up with the surge of emotion it brings on. “Oh, you poor thing, you’ve gone through so much.” He cups Logan’s cheek with one hand and wipes away a tear with the other.

Logan makes a noise that’s part laugh and part sob, and then they’re hugging, the kind of hug only people who are very, very close give each other.

“Are you okay?” Patton asks when they finally pull apart. Not quite apart, though. He’s holding Logan just above the elbows - an embrace, if Logan remembers his terminology correctly. That’s not important right now.

Logan smiles at him through his tears, and he sees Patton’s tears too, and knows they are sharing more than just touch. “I am now.”

He leans forward and presses a kiss to Patton’s lips.

“Welcome home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ta daaa! I really hope you enjoyed my first Logicality oneshot! The idea came from one of my own adventures with pennies, and I _had_ to write it! Come visit me on [Tumblr](https://grahoria.tumblr.com/) or at my [fanblog](https://grahoriasfancave.tumblr.com/) if you want


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